The Leader and the Thorn
by letschangetheworld
Summary: I am a leader. I am the leader. I can't be in love, I just can't. Pure Jay/Theresa fluff. Language.


'Kay, so I guess I lied in my most recent update in 'We Go By Moments & Days' .. I leave tomorrow for spring break but in my boredness today after finishing up my packing, I wrote this little one-shot from Jay's perspective. You might die of fluff inhalation, suffocation.. in general, the fluff in this might kill you. Reviews, like the ones I've been getting for 'We Go By Moments & Days' are splendid little gems! Please feel free.

Rated for strongish language. Gosh darn, I don't own any of this.

* * *

When I met Atlanta and Herry, I was so confident I was probably a little.. egotistical, arrogant, conceited and all those other words. I was comfortable, I knew I could do whatever these strange people asked me to do. I was apparently destined to be a leader, and really, it seemed so fitting. Jason, the leader. Jay, the leader.

And then _she _showed up.

Is it possible to instantly know that you should be with someone for the rest of your natural born life? Before seeing her pretty face and her emerald green eyes and her fiery red hair and before getting to know her equally as fiery personality, I didn't really believe in that whole thing they call love.

Sure, I've had girlfriends in the past. Apparently I'm an attractive guy, but unlike Neil, I don't pay much attention to it. Girls influence me, just like every other guy on this planet. But Theresa.. Theresa has power over me that I can't control. That I'll never be able to control, that I'll never be able to escape from.

She unknowingly implanted this tiny thorn in my back, small enough for me to normally not notice, but during certain situations affected me more than anything else had ever affected me. Every time she pulls out those nun chucks, and gets that look to those eyes, I want to scoop her up off her feet and throw her over my shoulder and just disappear with her and have her never have to taste a setback or defend herself ever again.

_I can't lose her_. I won't admit it to anybody but myself, but I seriously can't handle the thought of her leaving, or worse. Archie bothers me about my little crush, but what that idiot doesn't realize is its not just a crush. Theresa means more to me than sailing, than vanquishing Cronus for good, than showering, than breathing, than eating, _than living_.

I'm doomed, fuck. I'm so doomed. How can I lead a group to victory and at the same time protect the girl that I'm head over heels in love with? Christ, where is my testosterone gone? We've only started to really have a relationship together!

But now, at this exact moment in time, I'm more focused on the fact that Theresa's dozing in my lap, nestled against the pillow she had placed there before lounging out across the couch. Atlanta mentioned seconds ago that I should carry her up to bed, but Theresa looks so peaceful and adorable I can't stand the thought of moving her right now.

"Alright," I say finally, maneuvering Theresa around onto her back and shuffling over a little, positioning my arms around her bridal style. "I'll take her upstairs."

Somehow I manage to lift myself up off the couch and keep Theresa fairly comfortable in my arms. She's subconsciously snuggled up against my shoulder, eyes still closed. I leave the living room and venture through the rest of the house, climbing the flight of stairs, careful as to not disturb her.

Thankfully, her door is wide open and I easily shift through the doorway sideways. The last thing I need is to whack this goddess through the doorframe. Theresa mumbles something and I almost laugh, but really, its not surprising that she's already sleeping at nine o'clock. We had training today, where everybody was taken to their limits, and after that she had disappeared for a while only to come back from Persephone's 'guidance' lessons _crying_.

"I hate that woman," I mutter to myself as I lower Theresa cautiously onto her already low bed. Once I slipped my arms out from underneath her body, I managed to tug her covers up and over her, tucking her successfully in.

I sit myself down at the side of her bed, bending my knees up and folding my arms over them, watching her twist over onto her side so that she is facing me. I smile.

I'm so in love its ridiculous. I'm a leader, for goodness sake. I lead, its what I'm meant to do. I'm not supposed to be admiring my girlfriend, I'm not supposed to feel weak around her, I'm not supposed to have her radiant smile and her giggles and her womanly curves assault me in my dreams at night.

"I wonder if Jason ever fell in love," I say out loud to myself, and then cringe in slight dismay when Theresa stirs; I was too loud.

"Jay?"

My head shoots up, and I'm greeted with a sleepy grin and dazzling eyes that captivate me more than it should, more than she probably realizes. "You fell asleep and everybody was complaining," I tell her quickly. "So I brought you up here."

"Thank you, strong boyfriend," Theresa whispers softly to me, and I have this sudden mental image of me holding a fully conscious Theresa in my arms again, though this time she's saying dirty stuff to me and giving come-hither winks. Damn imagination.

I start to rise from the floor, but she makes a noise of protest and I stop halfway up. "What?" I ask, suddenly worried she isn't feeling well or needs something or is having a vision.

But she's simply looking up at me through sleepy, hooded eyes. "Can you.. can you stay with me for a while? Until I fall back asleep?" She asks me coyly.

"Game shows don't really interest me anyways." I straighten and walk around the bed while she flips over onto her other side and pulls back the sheets. Oh, she _really _wants me to stay with her. This is the first time we've been under the covers at the same time; not maybe how I'd like us to be, but this is almost as good.

I crawl in beside her, awkwardly adjusting myself to her low bed. I lift my arms up and tuck them behind my head, expecting Theresa to just lay there and fall asleep beside me. But suddenly her hair is all I see, and I feel this heavy weight on my chest.

Theresa is once again using me as a pillow, and really.._ I could care less._

Because not only am I a leader, I am also a man very much in love.


End file.
